Latino and immigrant rights groups in Texas are gearing up for a “summer of resistance” in response to the racist “show me your papers” law signed by Gov. Greg Abbott earlier this month, which would put racial profiling on the books by allowing local law enforcement to question the immigration status of anyone they stop, even due to simple traffic violations. Imagine the consequences, if this legislation is enacted later this year, in a state where nearly half of the population is Latino.
In response, groups are already mapping out boycotts in protest, and just this week, El Paso County Sheriff Richard Wiles and the Texas Organizing Project Education Fund filed a lawsuit against the bill, seeking to have it struck down as unconstitutional before it has a chance to wreak havoc on millions of Latino and immigrant residents. “The assaults on our community that this law encourages are unacceptable,” said Austin City Councilmember Gregorio Casar, who penned an op-ed in the New York Times calling on all Texans to fight the legislation:
I’m the son of immigrants, and I represent a district where more than one-third of residents are not citizens. I’ve seen firsthand the terror that this type of anti-immigrant legislation will cause in communities like mine.
During one of the immigration raids that took place in Austin this year, I sat in the living room of a constituent, an undocumented immigrant, talking to her young children. That day, Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers had knocked on their door. The children were confused and fearful that they were going to lose their parent. The trauma of that day will stay with them.
As a consequence of Senate Bill 4, I fear that many children in our community will to experience this terror every time they see an Austin police officer. This is wrong. We fund our police to protect us from danger and defend our rights, not to tear apart families.
from Daily Kos http://ift.tt/2qvnSOc
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